The Month in Reviews: October 2026

/ rtrube54 / Leave a comment
Cover image of "The Things We Never Say" by Elizabeth Strout

The Month in Reviews: October 2026

Introduction

Reviewers sometimes read books at different times than others. For example, this month’s reviews include three books on Advent, which in 2026 begins November 29. The reviews give people enough time to buy the books before Advent begins. Then I reviewed a couple great books on theology by James D.G. Dunn on Paul and J. Warren Smith on early Christian theology, an illuminating study of how the doctrines we affirm today were clarified in the first centuries. I read two books by John Searle and Jonathan Haidt whose subject is our minds. In addition, I read fascinating accounts of the development of the antibiotics that have saved so many lives and the Great Black Swamp of northwest Ohio that took many lives until settlers figured out how to drain it, creating a new problem.

Turning to fiction, I read Elizabeth Strout’s latest, well-deserving of its Booker short-listing, and an early Leif Enger novel. Of course, I sprinkled in some mysteries by Agatha Christie, Stuart Kaminsky, and Richard Osman. Then to top it off, I reviewed a delightful alphabet book for children. So, without further ado…

The Reviews

The Rediscovery of the Mind. John R. Searle. MIT Press (ISBN: 9780262691543) 1992. Argues for consciousness opposing dualism, materialism, and cognitive science, proposing biological naturalism. Review

Accidental Pagans, Ryan Lokkesmoe. Tyndale | Elevate (ISBN: 9798400509674) 2026. Christians often embrace a fear-driven faith more like pagan beliefs rather than living in freedom and joyful faith. Review

The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, 4), Richard Osman. Penguin Books (ISBN: 9780593299449) 2024. The Thursday Murder Club investigates the murder of Stephen’s friend Kuldesh while Stephen’s dementia worsens. Review

Practicing Radical Advent, Laurie Brink, OP, Dianne Bergant, CSA. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802885265) 2026. In seasons of imminent change, a guide to holy waiting infused with God’s presence and promise. Review

A Fatal Glass of Beer (Toby Peters, 20) Stuart M. Kaminsky. MysteriousPress.com/Open Road (ISBN: 9781453247525) 2012, first published 1997. Toby Peters is hired by W.C. Fields to find the imposter emptying Fields’ bank accounts across the country. Review

The Righteous Mind. Jonathan Haidt. Pantheon Books (ISBN: 9780307377906) 2012. Why different political and religious groups have such different beliefs about what is right and wrong. Review

Early Christian Theology, J. Warren Smith. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802874771) 2026. A guide to the development of early Christian theology emphasizing diverse attempts to understand scripture. Review

Sad Cypress (Hercule Poirot, 21) Agatha Christie. William Morrow Paperbacks (ISBN: 9780063376151) 2025, first published 1940. Elinor Carlisle is on trial for poisoning Mary Gerrard and will go to her death unless Poirot can show that someone else did it. Review

The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, Jill Lepore. Liveright (ISBN: 9781324098423) 2026. The rise of machine rule and the corporations that make them, its impacts, and possible demise. Review

Freely Sober, Ericka Andersen. InterVarsity Press (ISBN: 9781514013366) 2026. Writing for Christian women from experience with alcohol dependency and recovery, offers help in honest thinking about alcohol. Review

Candles in the Darkness, Lynneth Miller Renberg and Adam R Renberg. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514014226) 2026. Daily readings for Advent and Christmastide featuring excerpts from authors from the second to thirteenth centuries. Review

The Things We Never Say, Elizabeth Strout. Random House (ISBN: 9798217154746) 2026. Outwardly, Artie Dam is a beloved teacher; yet his life is fraught with the secrets kept by him and others. Review

The Great Black Swamp, Patrick Wensick. Belt Publishing (ISBN: 9781540270108) 2025. The swamp lands of northwest Ohio, their drainage and agricultural development, and toxic algae blooms. Review

Human Flourishing in a World of Trauma and Stress, Heidi Ann Russell. Liturgical Press (ISBN: 9798400801358) 2026. Theology and neuropsychology on the healing of traumatic stress in Christian community. Review

The Age of Cures, Barry Werth. Simon & Schuster (ISBN: 9781668067833) 2026. The birth of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry through a critical government decision resulting in a raft of miracle drugs. Review

All Creation Waits—Deluxe Edition, Gayle Boss, illustrated by Sharon Spitz. Paraclete Press (ISBN: 9798893480764) 2026. Twenty-five Advent reflections on how woodland animals adapt to winter’s coming, how they wait with us for life anew. Review

The Theology of Paul the Apostle, James D. G. Dunn. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802844231) 2006. Using Romans as a foundation and referencing Paul’s other writings, elaborates the theology of Paul. Review

George Passant (Strangers and Brothers, 2) C. P. Snow Open Road Integrated Media (ISBN: 9781504096966) 2024, first published 1940. A charismatic young solicitor gathers a group of mentees. Business schemes with two others lead to fraud charges. Review

All the Lives You Can Change, Dominic Roser, David Zhang and J. D. Bauman, foreword by Laura Buchak. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802885135) 2026. Using the tools of effective altruism, focuses on how we may love neighbors near and far more effectively. Review

So Brave, Young, and Handsome, Leif Enger. Grove Press (ISBN: 9780802144171) 2009. A struggling writer goes with a new friend on a journey to apologize to the wife the friend abandoned. Review

ABC Munchkins, Doris Brocke, Illustrators: Shawn Brocke and Caroline Brocke. Brocke House Enterprises (ISBN: 9780991835522) 2024. An alphabet book with alliteration and fun characters delightfully illustrated eating veggies and fruit from A to Z. Review

Best Book of the Month

I have long been a fan of Elizabeth Strout. But her latest, The Things We Never Say, is perhaps her most profound. Her economical prose explores the things about us we never say to another and the secrets we keep. Yet we want to know and be known. All this is explored through the life of Artie Dam, an aging school teacher who represents the best of the profession. So, it does not surprise me that this is short-listed for the Booker Prize.

Quote of the Month

Freely Sober by Ericka Anderson is a book written for women who may be alcohol dependent. A key idea in the book is to become “sober curious.” Here is how she explains it:

“Being ‘sober curious’ was the catalyst for shifting my perspective in a life-changing direction. Being sober curious means asking questions about drinking–yours, theirs, and everyone’s. It means educating yourself about alcohol and asking insightful questions about how drinking affects you and those around you without judgment” (p. 22).

What I’m Reading

Finally, we come to what’s in the stack of books I’m reading now. So, I loved Courtney Ellis’s Looking Up, which draws spiritual insights from birding. Weathering Change follows this same pattern, in likening the ways a variety of creatures adjust to changing seasons and environments and what we can learn for when we face change. Many Christians have written about seeking justice in one’s own country. However, Robert Joustra noticed that few tackle this when it comes to international relations. Therefore, he tackles this in Christ and Covenant in Global Politics.

Then, I’m on to number ten in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. Pratchett brings his satiric wit to Hollywood (Holy Wood in Discworld) in Moving Pictures. Finally, I’m just starting Miss Wolcott’s Ghost, the latest in Louise Penny’s Gamache series. Despite the fact that she is boycotting the U.S until at least 2028, I will keep reading the Canadian who helped get me through the pandemic.

While we’ve enjoyed a glorious October with brilliant fall colors in these parts, the turning of the calendar to November means shorter days, more rainy and cool weather. For me, it’s the perfect time to read and I’ve accumulated a winter stash. But I’d still love to hear what you are reading!

The Month in Reviews is my monthly review summary going back to 2014! It’s a great way to browse what I’ve reviewed. The search box on this blog also works well if you are looking for a review of a particular book. So, thanks for stopping by and feel free to share this with others!

The Weekly Wrap: October 25-31

/ rtrube54 / Leave a comment
woman in white crew neck t shirt sitting on chair
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

The Weekly Wrap: October 25-31

Imagining a Different Use for Campaign Funds

I just learned that the U.S. midterm elections have set new records for advertising spending. As of October 23, the Ohio Senate race had already spent $460 million. Elon Musk alone has donated over $250 million nationally to political campaigns.

My wife and I often shake our heads at all the things those campaign funds are not spent on. Here’s one comparison you might consider.Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library provides books to children at roughly $2.20 to $2.60 per book, including shipping. Last year, they provided 40 million books globally. Using the higher cost, this would cost $104 million.

Imagine this. If this money were used for childhood literacy efforts instead of beseiging us with “ads nauseum,” the money spent in Ohio alone could fund a quadrupling of the Imagination Library’s work.

Equally, cash-strapped libraries could expand book acquisitions and programming for children and adults. Ohio, which actually spends the most per capita on library funding at $531 million, could nearly double that contribution from one race alone (and probably could double it when final figures are in).

Of course, there are many other causes on which these funds could be spent. Literacy efforts happen to be something I care about. But the point is that these efforts do not lack needed funding because the money isn’t there. The spending on this campaign reveals the fabulous wealth some in our country enjoy. And our constitution and courts have said that if they want to spend this on campaigns, they are free to do so.

But I can’t help wondering about the folly of pouring so much into political ads that disgust us all and play fast and loose with the truth. And I can’t help imagining the better uses to which it might be put.

Five Articles Worth Reading

A new book makes the case that we would likely have known little of Vincent Van Gogh, apart from his eccentricities, were it not for his sister. “The Woman Who Made Vincent van Gogh Famous” reviews Joan Martelli’s new book, The Widow Van Gogh on the efforts of Johanna van Gogh-Bonger.

It’s the most popular course at Harvard. Students have to read a hefty book weekly and write regular essays. Also, no digital devices and no pass/fail. And 180 freshman vie for 90 spots. “The Brutal Harvard Class That Suddenly Everyone Wants to Take” gives me hope.

I’ve joined my wife in painting for perhaps the last ten or so years. If nothing else, painting makes you observe–shapes, lighting color values, composition. It also makes you look differently at the art of others. “Teaching Students to See What They Miss” describes using art to teach students “slow looking.” As a result, they found it made students better listeners and more attentive in other ways.

I moved away from Youngstown fifty years ago. I returned many times, I also researched and wrote blog pieces about the town for ten years (go to On Youngstown to access these). Through all that, I discovered the values and outlook and personal history that helped form me. Platon, a photographer and filmmaker, returned to the home of his youth, Paros, a Greek island. In a photo essay, he describes “The Greek Island That Taught Me the Art of Living.”

Finally, we bought our son a set of LEGOs as a child. And we often helped him add to his collection. He’s now in his early forties, and still buying new LEGO sets. Jess Uhre Rahbek explained for me “How LEGO Engineered the Perfect Plaything.” The article even includes original patent drawings from 1961, a basic design that has not changed.

Quote of the Week

I learned on Thursday of the death of Sir Patrick Stewart. In a Washington Post interview from 2023, he remarked:

“Every single day, no matter how early I have to get up, I begin with a cup of tea and a book, not a script, not emails, a book.”

Miscellaneous Musings

Beyond his roles in theatre and on television and film, one of the gifts many remember from Patrick Stewart came during the COVID lockdowns of 2020. While we alternately washed our groceries and ranted about wearing masks, Stewart would appear on YouTube and other social media reading a sonnet of Shakespeare each day. He gently reminded us of the good, the true, and the beautiful when this seemed in scarce supply. Something we might learn from as we remember him.

Undoing Manifest Destiny by L. Daniel Hawk is a challenging book that I won’t say much more about until I review it. But one of the things I connected with is that Hawk, a native Ohioan, includes vignettes of Ohio’s history with Indigenous peoples as illustrations of key themes for each of his chapters.

I’ve always loved a good book recounting a military battle. This was a free book from Thriftbooks but Waterloo: A Near Run Thing by David Howarth is the perfect account of that battle–human interest, chronology, the topography of the battle–it’s all there in just the right amount of detail.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: The Month in Review: October 2026

Tuesday: L. Daniel Hawk, Undoing Manifest Destiny

Wednesday: Osvaldo Padilla, The Pastoral Epistles

Thursday: David Howarth, Waterloo: A Near Run Thing

Friday: Doris Brocke, Happy As Your Moose

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for October 25-31.

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page.

Review: ABC Munchkins

/ rtrube54 / Leave a comment
Cover image of "ABC Munchkins" by Doris Brocke

ABC Munchkins

ABC Munchkins, Doris Brocke, Illustrators: Shawn Brocke and Caroline Brocke. Brocke House Enterprises (ISBN: 9780991835522) 2024.

Summary: An alphabet book with alliteration and fun characters delightfully illustrated eating veggies and fruit from A to Z.

From an early age, parents teach their children the alphabet as a basis for learning to read. Many are a variation on “A is for….” Doris Brocke with the help of illustrators Shawn and Caroline Brocke have created a book that makes learning the alphabet, particularly in a read aloud setting, far more fun.

It’s a tale that begins with a group of children (the ABC Munchkins) looking for good food to eat. But as they go along they meet unusual creatures eating vegetables or fruit. And as it happens, both the creature and the vegetable or fruit begin with the next letter of the alphabet (with the exception of ice cream for “I”)!

But the fun is just beginning! Each one of these encounters is alliterated beginning with “Astronauts ask all about apricots.”

“Astronauts ask all about apricots” From ABC Munchkins (https://dorisbrocke.wixsite.com/rhubarbtoroses/garden-centre)

It only gets more fun from there. We observe that “Cycling cyclops cannot carry carrots.” Meanwhile “Elegant elves enjoy eating eggplant.” One of my favorites was “Garlic gargling gargoyles go gallivant.” The illustration looks like something out of Where the Wild Things Are.

Can you see how much fun this could be to read aloud with a child? Childrn are already attuned to sounds, which the alliteration emphasizes. At the top of each page, the alphabet letter appears in upper and lower case. The alliterated sentences offer an example of this and the sound(s) each letter represent.

I also learned two new words–haskaps, a kind of berry, and xigua, a kind of melon.

In addition, the book seems like a fun and subversive way of encouraging kids to eat their fruits and veggies. Not only is there an incredible array of healthy foods. All the creatures are exuberantly enjoying eating.

In conclusion, this book just works on so many levels. Above all, it is a book to read aloud with great joy. I can’t wait to hear of families who try to eat all the fruits and veggies topped off with an ice cream dessert!

_____________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author for review.

Review: So Brave, Young, and Handsome

/ rtrube54 / Leave a comment
Cover image of "So Brave, Young, and Handsome" by Leif Enger.

So Brave, Young, and Handsome

So Brave, Young, and Handsome, Leif Enger. Grove Press (ISBN: 9780802144171) 2009.

Summary: A struggling writer goes with a new friend on a journey to apologize to the wife the friend abandoned.

Monte Becket was a postman in Minnesota in 1910 when, for fun, he wrote an adventure story about a postman, Martin Bligh. It became wildly popular, went through multiple printings, and his publisher hoped for a second book. So Monte quit his job and set to work. But the book wouldn’t come. The publisher rejected his drafts. About the time he was thinking of giving up, he meets an older man rowing a boat. Subsequently, they strike up an acquaintance. Glendon Hale lives in a barn where he builds boats. Monte, his wife Susannah, and son Redstart all like him.

Then one day Hale asks Monte to go with him to Mexico. Years ago, Hale had married, but abandoned his wife, Blue. He wants to go back and apologize. Surprisingly, Susannah agrees to him taking the trip. Did she think he needed his own adventures before he could write any more?

Needless to say, Monte got more adventure than he ever bargained for. First, on the train, Hale learns from an old porter he’d known, that a lawman is after him. Before he can be detained, he jumps off the train. Monte is not so lucky and is a “guest” at the lawman’s home, conveniently on a river. Hale, who Monte has learned is really Glen Dobie, comes by on a boat, and Monte is now a fugitive from the law. He learns Dobie was wanted for murder in a train robbery.

They manage to buy a car, and get the teenage mechanic, Hood Roberts, thrown in, if they will make a detour to a rodeo ranch in Oklahoma. While they elude the one man, another is on their tail. Charles Siringo has never stopped hunting Dobie. As a former Pinkerton detective, he is wily as a fox and relentless as a bloodhound. While Dobie escapes the rodeo during a gunfight, Siringo is wounded. Subsequently, Monte is left behind, held and portrayed by Siringo as a confidence man, so that he can help Siringo pursue, first Hood Roberts, and then Dobie, who is now headed to California where Blue has remarried and lives with a grower.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is his forced travels with Siringo. It turns out he is a literate man who even read Martin Bligh. Their conversations expose Monte’s naivete. He also meets a man who will not give up, even when a doctor says he’s not long for the world.

However the most intriguing part of the book has to do with why Dobie wants to find Blue. Why does he untertake baptism (again)? It seems he wants to make right what he’d done wrong. But how far will he go with that? I’m continuing to ponder why Glendon would ask Monte to leave Susannah so that he could seek the forgiveness of the woman he left? And what will become of Monte, Susannah, and Redstart? After all this, can he take up his former work as a postman? And will he ever write again?

In this work, Enger gives us a cross between a road novel and a Western. Beyond adventure, of which there is plenty, it is a novel of transformation, at least for Monte. A part of this involves the work of his hands, as Monte learns boat building from Glendon. Blocked in writing, he learns a different use of his hands. What will that mean for him? And what will he glean from his time with Siringo? Makes me want a sequel.

Review All the Lives You Can Change

/ rtrube54 / Leave a comment
Cover image of "All the Lives You Can Change" by Dominic Roser, David Zhang and J. D. Bauman

All the Lives You Can Change

All the Lives You Can Change, Dominic Roser, David Zhang and J. D. Bauman, foreword by Laura Buchak. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802885135) 2026.

Summary: Using the tools of effective altruism, focuses on how we may love neighbors near and far more effectively.

We want our lives to matter. And if we care deeply about that, we ask how our impact may be most effective given our time, talents, resources, and influence. That is the basic idea behind effective altruism. It is not only that we care deeply about others, but that we think carefully, even quantitatively, about our impact. For example, this book mentions the case of improving educational outcomes for African children. An agency wanted to give laptops with educational software to each child. As generous as that seems, an investment that goes much further at lower cost and greater impact is providing malaria netting to each child.

The idea of effective altruism was developed by secular ethicists. However, the authors of this book believe in many respects it reflects a Christian concern for wise and generous stewardship that loves our neighbors with both heart and mind. First of all, the authors argue that loving one’s neighbor means radical empathy. That is, we put ourselves in the neighbor’s shoes. Then, the radical part thinks beyond the normal boundaries of our compassion–across racial, economic and national lines. But the model of Christian effective altruism proposes not just giving more to more. It proposes giving better by loving with our minds. So, how do we do that?

A major concept in this book is the ITN framework. It is used to prioritize causes and select the best out of many good options. It stands for:

  • Importance: the severity and scale of a problem
  • Tractability: the likelihood of our actions having a positive impact on the cause area.
  • Neglectedness: whether or not there are already has a lot of attention, funding and resources working on it.

The authors offer examples working through ITN for extreme poverty, climate change, religious persecution, human trafficking, AI safety, farm animal welfare, and heritage preservation. They then identify seven habits of mind by which reason and evidence become instruments of love. These include chasing after truth, relevance, numbers and evidence, and listening to empirical science, to the affected, and to God.

After addressing barriers to this kind of life, the concluding chapters of the book look at our finances, our careers, our influence, and our time. With regard to finances, they explore wise habits that free up funds to give. They note that we should not always despise “band-aid solutions.”. Sometimes a bandaid, like a malaria net, can be very effective. Strategic donations may have far more impact than ethical consumerism, which is still consumerism. Then, careers are important, 80,000 hours of our lives. They urge asking how pressing are the problems we focus on, how effective are the solutions we’re pursuing, how much leverage we can apply, and what our personal fit is. The chapter on influence offers a framework, which it illustrates with the work of Katherine Hayhoe as an environmental influencer.

There are several things I appreciate about this book. It takes living a generous lifestyle of radical empathy far more seriously than most Christians would take it. Likewise, it is not afraid to consider questions of effectiveness, and to allow decisions informed by data and not sentiment. It assumes Christians sold out on the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.

One thing that isn’t addressed is Christian effective altruism and the local congregation. Many Christians devote significant investments of their time, talents, and resources to and through the local congregation. I wonder by the criteria the authors propose, whether this is effective. It’s striking that most examples in the book are outside the local congregational context. It certainly challenges congregations to think hard about their effectiveness and how it is measured.

Neither is much said about investing in the arts. It is striking how musical performances were critical to the life of prisoners of war and beseiged cities. In educational contexts, arts programs often are as important to academic motivation and success as STEM subjects. Yet these on their face may not appear “effective” and often are deprioritized for funding both in the church and the culture.

However, the book is a thought-provoking read. The personal stories at the end of each chapter put effective altruism practices in reach of all of us. It also poses challenging questions to organizations addressing various human needs. Are these utilizing the most effective strategies, or just the ones they love? Read this book at your peril. You may not look at your finances, your work, or your influence in the same way. On the other hand, Jesus says that only those who lose their lives will find them.

_____________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: George Passant

/ rtrube54 / Leave a comment
Cover image of "George Passant" by C. P. Snow

George Passant

George Passant (Strangers and Brothers, 2) C. P. Snow Open Road Integrated Media (ISBN: 9781504096966) 2024, first published 1940.

Summary: A charismatic young solicitor gathers a group of mentees. Business schemes with two others lead to fraud charges.

“And so with the others of George’s group … George had set us moving, lent us money: he never seemed to think twice of lending us money … It was the first time we had been near to a generous-hearted man. We became excited over the books he told us to read and the views he stood by … We were carried away by his belief in human beings and ourselves.“

And so we are introduced to the central character, George Passant, of the second of C.P. Snow’s “Strangers and Brothers” series, held together by its narrator, Lewis Eliot, whose career we trace in the course of the series. [The novel is actually the first to be written and carried the title Strangers and Brothers until Snow developed the series, using that for the series name and retitling this book after its main character.]

George Passant is the charismatic young solicitor, working as the manging clerk of Eden and Martineau, a law firm in a small town. Beginning in the 1920’s, he gathered a group of students from a nearby school where he was a lecturer, including Lewis Eliot. He was generous with his ideas, his funds, and his support of their budding careers. He was also profligate in sexual matters, both with some women in the group as well as prostitutes. The group gathers at cafes, in each others’ flats, and overnights at a farm they rent out.

One of the group, Jack Cotery, became his special cause. Cotery is an apprentice at a newspaper. The publisher’s son, Roy Calvert, develops a crush on Jack. Therefore, when father finds out, he withdraws support for printers’ training at the college. George responds with outrage, and against the counsel of friends, defends Jack with the scholarship board. He wins a partial victory but makes enemies and undermines his prospects to advance to partner at Eden and Martineau.

However, he persists with the group, and gives Jack as much support as he can as Cotery undertakes various business ventures. We’re now into the 1930’s. Eliot’s career has taken off in London. But Jack and George are still back in small town England. George has aspirations for so much more, financially and with the group, where his life is. Jack brings him an opportunity to do that. Martineau has had a religious awakening and not only is selling off his interest in the firm, but an ad agency with an advertising newspaper that is his side hustle. He overstates the circulation, and because of his reputation, no one questions the numbers.

Olive Calvert, Roy’s sister, who is in a relationship with Jack, also joins the effort. They recruit investors and the business flourishes sufficiently to consider a second venture. They decide to acquire the farm, both for the use of the group and as a hostel. All is going well until one of the investors accuses them of fraud based on the advertising newspaper’s inflated circulation figures. Eliot, becomes their lawyer, and at the insistence of Eden, becomes co-counsel with his old supervisor, Herbert Getliffe.

Not only is some of the evidence indicative of intent to defraud. Both testimony, and a diary of George’s reveal compromising moral goings-on, for which the farm provided cover. All this leads Eliot to reassess his mentor. A good part of the book covers the preparation for and trial of the three.

Reading this book made me think of C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man and particularly the phrase “men without chests.” Lewis used this to describe the debilitating effect of moral relativism on intelligent and ambitious people:

“You can hardly open a periodical without coming across the statement that what our civilization needs is more ‘drive’, or dynamism, or self-sacrifice, or ‘creativity’. In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful” [The Abolition of Man (New York: Touchstone, 1996), p. 37].

This is an apt description of the people we meet in George Passant. They do not lack in intelligence, sophistication, charisma, or drive. There is competence without character. They seem to live in a world where all is gray. It’s a world lacking in color. And yet, Snow offers a fascinating exploration of a group of people navigating just such a world.